‘Industry”s shocking death scene was nearly axed by HBO: “What the hell?!”

Industry‘s creators have revealed that the show’s unexpected season three death scene was nearly cut by HBO.

The recent finale sees things take a downward turn for Rishi Ramdani (Sagar Radia), whose gambling problem has tragic consequences when debt collector Vinay (Asim Chaudhry) turns up at his home, Rishi owing him £500,000.

Things escalate and in a shocking twist, Vinay shoots Rishi’s wife Diana (Emily Barber) in the head.

Opening up about the narrative choice, co-creator Mickey Down told Rolling Stone: “We thought: ‘What if we actually started to show what the consequences of someone’s actions are in this world?’ Because Rishi, like a lot of the characters, has never had to face any.”

However, US broadcaster HBO were hesitant to include the scene, the showrunner recalling: “We wrote it into the script, and HBO said: ‘What the hell?!’ And they very rarely say that. Normally they want us to push it further, be darker, and be more provocative.”

He explained that HBO still had reservations after filming had taken place, as it didn’t “feel” like Industry as they knew it – though the broadcaster were won over when they saw the whole episode.

“They thought it really hammered home the [point] we were trying to make,” Down added, “which is that there are consequences in this world for some people.”

As for what to expect going forward in the recently-commissioned fourth season, Radia suggested that Rishi’s “story isn’t quite closed” yet, adding: “I think there’s still something there, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what that looks like.”

Co-creator Konrad Kay further predicted that the shooting “signals that the show is going to be very, very different now”.

“We’re going to see a part of London and the finance world that is even more complex and corrupt,” he added.

The season three finale recently won praise from fans, some calling it one of the “best ever” episodes of television.

In NME‘s four-star review of Industry‘s first season, we said: “It makes the world of banking look deeply unappealing, but makes it very fun to watch others suffer through it.”

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